Rittenhouse is chock-full of wonderfully walkable streets, but one of them tends to stand out for its uniquely English characteristics in the middle of Philadelphia: the 2100 block of Saint James Place. Closed off to cars, this block is a secluded collection of Tudor-style houses developed in the 1920’s. With a stone walkway lined by flowering trees, it’s downright romantic. Imagine having a chance to live within its calming confines?

2141 Saint James Place, an end cap on 22nd Street inside English Village, just hit the market. Listed at $735,000, the architecture–a pitched roof, strong stone wall and a classic brick chimney–does not lack in curb appeal. Inside, the 3-bed, 2-bath home offers many original touches, such as the parquet floors and three fireplaces.

Updates are definitely needed–namely, central air and a revamped kitchen–but there’s something to be said about living in a unique enclave that’s a short walk from Rittenhouse Square. Plus, it’s well under $1 million, has reasonable taxes, in the Greenfield catchment and the HOA dues are a mere $25 per month to maintain the courtyard.

Don’t forget, the Walnut Estates development is in the process of replacing the unsightly surface parking lot between Chancellor and Walnut on 22nd Street with five multi-million dollar townhomes.

Restaurant institution Friday Saturday Sunday has been around since 1973, the lone survivor of Philadelphia’s first restaurant renaissance. Weaver and Jamie Lilly have guided the Rittenhouse Square restaurant through the decades and are selling the restaurant to Chad Williams, a Garces veteran and current chef at Tela’s Market. Williams and his wife Hanna are going to keep the name but make some cosmetic changes after a brief closure.

That closure is set for Saturday, August 15th, but before that happens, the Lilley’s are throwing one last wine dinner.

DanDan opened over the weekend at 126 S 16th Street. The restaurant serves Sichuan and Taiwanese cuisine in Center City for lunch and dinner.

For now the restaurant is operating as a BYOB, but soon enough the restaurant will have a full liquor license. The restaurant is run by Kevin and Catherina Huang, former operators and managers of Han Dynasty’s University City location. As such, the dan dan noodles are a must order (even better, they’re free with any purchase through Friday). Even after bringing leftovers back to the office, several staff members put the noodles slightly ahead Han Chiang’s renditions.Highlights and full menus »

Not the Tangier you knew. SouhGate brings taste of Korea to 18th and Lombard.

When we last checked in on SouthGate back in April, owner Peter Hwang was excited to get into renovating the old Tangier and turning it into a Korean pub. We were a little worried about what he would find as he started scraping away the decades of grease, paint and wear at the corner bar. Sure enough, the rehab was more intense than imagined. The floor joists all had to be replaced and the basement walk-ins and the kitchen on the main floor. The basement restrooms now shine, and the steps down are just as steep, but not nearly as rickety.

Real estate on Rittenhouse Square comes at a premium, especially if it has a view of the iconic park. Sure, static views from places like 1706 Rittenhouse, Parc, the Rittenhouse Hotel or even the brand new units at the Alison Building are stellar (and pricey). However, with all due respect to the aforementioned views, filmmaker Kurtis Sensenig might have actually topped them all with this recent drone video.

The video was shot at 8 a.m. and shows a dazzling view of Rittenhouse Square. As the drone floats to its apex, it tilts up from and overhead shot of Rittenhouse Square to reveal one of the most glorious views of the Center City skyline–do not cut this video short!

At the risk of starting a fuss about which neighborhood 1522 Naudain Street falls in, we’re just going to go ahead and say it really has the best of both Rittenhouse and Graduate Hospital, regardless: it’s a stone’s throw from South Street (still fun times), yet a few short blocks from the Square and its surrounding eateries and retail.

In addition to having its neighborhood cake and eating it too, the expanded trinity home had its kitchen renovated back in 2013. The work brought in recessed lighting, an exposed brick wall, oversized cabinetry and new stainless steel appliances. Dining al fresco is possible, as there’s a private back patio accessed via French doors in the living room.

For those of you seeking brand new luxury rental options on Rittenhouse Square, today is essentially your day. By that we mean, 19 units at the revamped Alison Building at 1805 Walnut Street (above the Barnes and Noble) are ready to go and we’ve got the first pics of the model unit (7A), which overlooks Rittenhouse Square.

A rep from Allan Domb real Estate tells us that 1/3 of the units have already been rented, including the incredible penthouse apartment that was being marketing at $20,000 per month. That doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the view from the terrace of said off-the-market penthouse overlooking the Square. Here’s what that looks like:

From the former operators and managers of Han Dynasty University City comes DanDan, a fresh combination of Sichuan and Taiwanese cuisine in Rittenhouse. Kevin and CatherinaHuang plan to open (tentatively) on July 1st at 126 S 16th Street.

In this upscale environment (think full, operating bar), the duo hope to offer healthy, authentic, and quality Chinese food that will be customizable for gluten-free and vegetarian diets (which isn’t exactly authentic, but we’ll let that slide) and will also, like Han Dynasty, be customizable for spiciness.

Hot off his successful bid for City Council At-Large, Allan Domb is set to unveil the first round of super high-end rental units inside the Alison Building at 1805 Walnut Street, with some overlooking Rittenhouse Square. Set betwixt 10 Rittenhouse and 1801 Walnut Street (the corner building the that houses Anthropologie), the Alison Building is anchored by a three-story Barnes and Noble. The residences above will feature a 24-hour doorman and command rents between $2,650 and $7,950 per month.

Work began on the upper floors of the building in the fall, and a rep from Allan Domb Real Estate says the first round of what will be 19 luxury units will be delivered July 1. Floor plans range from 515-square-feet all the way up to 5,900-square-feet for the penthouse (more on that in a bit).

Here is the breakout, minus the penthouse (more on that in a bit, we promise):

How, you ask? First, by extending an extra hour and running from 5pm ’til 7pm, offering every cocktail and 16 different wines-by-the-glass for $7. And also by extending into the weekend, making happy hour at Abe Fisher at 7-day-a-week event.